Kwibuka29: Digital artist on commemoration collection, teaching youth through art
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Loading... - Aaron Uwimana
- 06 Apr 2023
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Henry Munyaneza, painter and digital artist
Twenty-year-old painter and digital artist Henry Munyaneza has created a collection of portraits titled ‘Kwibuka’, with the goal to encourage people to spread love and unity, not hate. The paintings also represent remembering and honouring the innocent lives lost during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Born after the Genocide, Munyaneza didn’t know much about the dark history of Rwanda, until he visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial in February this year, which triggered a sudden emotional outburst.
Being at the memorial stirred an inner ache, and left him wondering how people could be so cruel as to butcher others in cold blood. Even though he started his career as a painter in 2020, the visit to the memorial evoked emotions that he put into his art, hence, decided to use his platform—going forward—to help other young people learn more about the Genocide.
Munyaneza says it was a sad realisation, as he imagined how the country, especially survivors, broken and traumatised, had to go on with their lives after everything they had been through, knowing that they would never see their loved ones again. “I now understand why as Rwandans we have to remember and unite,” he says. For him, this is a time to exercise strength and support each other physically, psychologically, and emotionally.
One of Munyaneza’s paintings is named ‘Izere’, it portrays a strong facial expression though with a lot of pain. Through this, he wants to bring to light the pain of losing people during the genocide that many youngsters today never got the chance to meet. This specific painting also depicts strength, as a reminder that the souls of the deceased are resting in peace and are proud of how Rwanda is progressing. Read More…
